Thursday’s Meeting – The beginning of the end.
Thursday, February 17, 2011’s Park Ridge Park District Board Meeting did what it’s members intended to do; it destroyed the 30-year Park District/Senior Services relationship.
At this point, based upon the actions of those Board members present at that meeting, the actions at the Mid-January, 2011 meeting, and everything I’ve seen in print; including the old contract, the recently negotiated agreement and the newly passed resolution, I don’t see how any kind of working-relationship based on mutual respect and trust, can exist.
Poor Leadership = Poor Results.
The Park Ridge Park District Board has once again micro-managed its way into a corner.
It, unfortunately, doesn’t think so. Based on what I can see, Board Members apparently believe, or wish to believe, their newly passed resolution will stamp closed to this problem.
It will not!
Those of you who’ve read my earlier blog postings on this subject already know that I couldn’t care less, whether seniors meet in Park Ridge or not.
My concern has always been, and continues to be, the shoddy way in which Park Ridge seniors, possible even your parents and grand parents, are being treated; by this Board. And based upon Thursday’s meeting, I now have, I believe, a better understanding on why a professional like Mr. Ray “O”, left.
Prior Warning
For weeks I’ve been warning some of my fellow Senior Center members that the PRPD Board as a whole, was apparently incapable of dealing straight with them, and that they, the seniors, were being led down a path by men and women who were not showing their true colors.
And now, those colors are clear.
At the Mid-January Board Meeting, board members tabled their expensively negotiated proposal, because “they had questions”; even weeks after having the proposal in their hands.
In the end, of course, they didn’t have questions. Tabling the item did what it was supposed to do, kick the can down the road.
The Board apparently didn’t even propose questions that would lead to a resolution on the contract when two of its members met at the Senior Center with Senior Services members, a week or so prior to last Thursday’s vote.
No Guts – No Glory.
Seniors have been patiently asking this board for two months; please vote our proposal, up or down.
What they got, was – nothing.
No.
What they got from this weak and dysfunctional Park Board, was in my opinion, a poorly executed lesson in deception.
Five Board Members came to vote on that resolution and they were damn if they weren’t going to get what they came for.
And they voted themselves a flowery, shamefully meaningless, unenforceable, resolution.
Return of the “Clubhouse”
So, Park Ridge Park District Board Members and Park Ridge non-Senior citizens, you now have your “Clubhouse” back.
In years to come, I am sure Park Ridge children, and maybe even your grandchildren will proudly proclaim each February 17th, “Clubhouse Day”.
They don’t want us here – maybe it’s time to go!
So now my fellow Senior Center Members, I suggest we look for another home. I am sure there are places we can go; senior-friendly places. Places where we can share our final years.
It’s obvious to me, “the enlightened ones” on the Park Ridge Park District Board believe we, and their other self-inflicted problems, need to go away.
If board actions to date are any indication of what is to come, then I believe the resolution they just passed, at the whim of the board, won’t be worth squat.
Seniors, maybe it’s time to blow this place!
10 comments:
You are delusional.
It is sad really.
I was at the meeting and think you have summarized the situation very well. It's a sad state of affairs!
1:52 Could you please be more specific? What part of the post is "delusional?" I think what the post says is firmly rooted in the facts of the situation. Not a single person at the meeting spoke in favor of the resolution that was passed except the District's attorney, who most likely wrote it, and some (but not all) of the commissioners, for whom it was written. Even some of the residents who were there to speak about a completely different issue spoke up in favor of the seniors and what they were asking for. Are you going to call them delusional, too?
Anon: 1:52 PM,
I decided to wait a couple days to determine if you were going to answer the other guys question regarding my blog post being “delusional”.
You didn’t.
Senior Center users need an up or down vote from the board. They need to get on with the remainder of their lives. What is delusional about to that?
Seems to me, if there is any self-delusion taking place at all, it is with this board.
They mistakenly think their job is to (run) the park district.
They don’t get that their job is policymaking.
They don’t get that their job is to take recommendations of the people who work under their direction.
They don’t get that their self-inflicted problem is not going to go away until they vote the Senior Center Proposal up or down!
I have heard from people at the Park District that some reasonable Seniors have begun meeting with the Park District in unofficial meetings to work within the resolution that was passed, and are supportive of it.
These are Seniors that want a solution and no longer wish to be represented by people who cannot reach an agreement due to pride and vanity. Sounds like there is some dissent within the Senior Senate?
Anon at 11:07
You'll have to back that comment up with some facts, or the readers of this blog might need to view your comment as propaganda meant to swing sentiment toward the Park DIstrict.
From all that I have seen and heard, Senior Services has been very reasonable in its negotiations-- much more reasonable than the Park District Board who won't even meet to negotiate about the contract. That is the epitome of unreasonable.
I am concerned with some peoples attitude that it is Senior Services that is behind the not reaching an agreement on the contract. An agreement was reached and the contract was to be signed in January . At the January Board meeting Marty Maloney said that he still had some questions, parrotted by Mary Wynn Ryan , and that since 2 board members were absent and no Director of Parks was seated he wanted to wait until March when all was in place. At the Feb meeting up comes this resolution which does not hold water and was voted upon with 2 board member missing and NO Director of Parks seated ! That is TURNCOAT in my mind and makes them liers.
As to the comment that "there is dessent within the Senior Senate' you do not know what your are talking about. Senior Senate is with in the Senior Center and I can speak in all honesty that there is not discord , dissent there. Senior Services that is the "umbrella "for the Senior Center also has no dessent with in it's membership.
And also there is no one meeting with the Park District with authority from either the Senior Center, Senate or Senior Services.
You are just a rumor monger.
Anon: February 24, 2011 11:07 AM,
A very interesting development should it be true. However, you will have to provide more specifics, like names, to give your comment the credence it deserves.
Further, as I understand the PRPD/Senior Services relationship, no one but official representatives of Senior Services have the authority to represent Senior Center members.
Period!
It would seem to me, if what you say is true, Park Ridge Park District Officials are knowingly wasting their time and our money.
You state that Senior Center Members, specifically, Senior Services Board Members, cannot reach agreement due to “pride” and “vanity”. Please, show me examples of Senior Service Member or Senior Center “pride” and “vanity” regarding this issue.
At this moment, I can only think of one example of Senior Center “pride”. Maybe it’s the one you are referring to; it’s Senior-members pride in the accomplishments they’ve created within the Park Ridge Community.
Maybe it’s the pride in creating and growing the Senior Center and Senior-centered activities – through their own efforts. Maybe it’s the pride in raising money for various charities. Maybe it’s the pride in making regular payments of thousands of dollars per year directly to the Park Ridge Park District.
Maybe it’s vane to crow a little for what they’ve done; but who can blame them?
That said, if there are any pride or vanity problems at all regarding the contract proposal or contested resolution, it lies with those PRPD Board “enlightened ones” who can’t stand not having their outrageous demands met.
Remember, the seniors only want an up or down vote on their negotiated proposal; a proposal authorized and paid for by the PRPD taxpayer. It appears to me, it’s the Park District Board that needs to cover its butt through the use of a back-door method, for not having the political balls to vote the contract agreement up or down!
Happy Clubhouse Day!
Mr. Butterly,
I do understand the need for names to give it credibility. Unfortunately if I provide those names, the discussions will likely end, or significantly change.
Right now progress is being made. It will come out soon enough. For now, it's happening behind the scenes. Well behind the scenes.
Anon: February 24, 2011 8:38 PM,
No one seems to know whom you are talking about. Not the Senior Center’s attorneys. Not the President of the Senior Senate. Not the President of Senior Services. Who else officially represents the interests of the seniors in this matter?
I am a member of the Park Ridge Senior Center and I recognize as my representatives only those representatives duly elected or appointed to represent me. If the Board is in fact attempting to circumvent the official representatives, they will, I believe, be placing the Board and the new Administrative Officers in political of not legal, harms way. If what you say is true, then what does it say about the integrity of PRPD’s Board?
I guess, had I been a member of the PRPD Board, I would have had the balls to vote the proposal down and been done with it. But that’s just me.
As you infer, we’ll just have to wait and see.
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